Friday, June 21, 2013

Preparations for next weekend's trip to Westcentral Nebraska are in full swing now. Odin's Revenge is going to be (possibly) the longest single ride I have ever done in one sitting. In this instance, I need a comfortable, reliable, capable, and functional machine. I can not think of a better bike for this ride than the Fargo Gen 1

Due to the nature of the course, I have been forewarned that a bigger tire is best. No "skinny" gravel grinder tires for this event. In fact, I was told that some sections of dirt last year were suitable for fat biking more than any other type of bike. I could have taken my titanium Mukluk, and I almost did, but the Fargo beat it by a few strong points.

More water carrying capacity: The Ti Muk can't carry six bottles. The Gen 1 Fargo can. It sounds like it could be pretty hot out there next week. I'd rather have lots of water on the bike, not on my back.

Drop Bars: The Ti Muk has flat bars, and while I could go with bar ends, it just doesn't work as well out in the open with wind and what not. Also, the "multi-level" drop bar not only gives you plenty of hand positions, but allows you to change up your upper body position as well.

Weight: The Fargo is lighter. Not by much, but it is slightly lighter.

So, I stuck on some Maxxis Ikon tires using a set of Sun-Ringle' "Black Flag" wheels and did the tubeless set up using MG's Special Sauce. (Home brew tubeless stuff) The Ikons have a slightly flattish profile, and as I recall, they had good traits in looser, sandier soils. They roll plenty fast, and are pretty light weight.

I'll be testing the set up this weekend, and then a week from today I'll be on the road out to Gothenburg, NE. Ready or not......

Rut-roh!

And in other Fargo news.....

I had a bit of a mishap with my other Fargo the other day. I was obliged to do some bushwhacking due to a bridge repair on my commute to work. I figured I could ease on through the weeds and reach the bike path with no issues. That was until I got bushwhacked!
You know when you hear that "twang-a-lang-a-ding-dong" sound in your rear wheel that things are amiss, and there just almost is never anytime to react quickly enough to prevent the mayhem that occurs. Well, sure enough, when I looked down and saw that small branch with all the leaves and twigs attached, I knew my derailleur was no longer in its proper position. I almost hated to get off and inspect it.

You see, last year I helped my friend Ben out of a pickle when he sheared off a derailleur and there was nothing to do but push him out of the country back to our cars. I think his frame was damaged in that accident as well, rendering the bike useless without a major repair. I thought I was in for a similar fate, with regard to the frame. I already knew I was walking that last mile home.

Well, fortunately for me, the replaceable hangar snapped off, just like it is supposed to, so my frame is still okay. (As you can see in the image here.) A new hangar is on the way, and then the Fargo Gen 2 will be as good as gold again.

3GR:

It's happening tomorrow from Gates Swimming Pool's lot on East Donald Street, Waterloo, IA at 8:30am. Bigger loop which should net you over 30 miles, unless you ride over, then it will be more. Who will show up? I don't know. I'm going regardless on my Fargo to test the Odin's set up.Okay- it is officially Summer! You'd better get while the gettin's good! Ride on!

4 comments:

My first experience with single speeding was a result of the old stick vs derailleur mishap. It happened 1 hr out on a 4 hr ride. I cut the chain, put it on middle-middle, and off I went! Soon my buddy built me a SS, and I never looked back! Recently, we tried the same fix, and no go. The ramped & pinned middle ring caused all kinds of havoc, not the case in '96 when rings weren't ramped or pinned.Putting a old school on the middle ring on a modern crank might allow folks to do that, but I don't see that happening, especially given that triples are becoming rare. Sure beats walking tho.

It's never a fun thing to pull a derailleur off your bike, even with a replaceable hanger, but you're right, it does make it hurt less in the long run.

I'm lookin' forward to Odin's Revenge. I'll likely be on the same Singular Kite I rode at the Dirty Kanza 200 this year, as it served me well and the tire setup should be just about right for the sandy conditions.